


Tea Time

by Hino



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: A little fluff piece, Gen, I wrote this ages ago and forgot to do anything with it, Set after the ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-23
Updated: 2017-05-23
Packaged: 2018-11-04 00:02:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10978146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hino/pseuds/Hino
Summary: Ardyn enters the Afterlife, expecting nothing but emptiness.Instead, he finds himself in a garden, invited to tea.





	Tea Time

The sight of a neat garden, with well-trimmed hedges and a small outdoor table, was not what Ardyn expected when he entered the Afterlife.

He knew he was dead. Noctis had used the powers of the True King to erase him, alongside the healing power of the Oracle. Thirteen blades had torn through him, sending his soul into the abyss where he was supposed to rest for eternity.

Didn’t exactly explain why he was in some tidy outdoors space.

 

“Please, have a seat.”

The voice surprised him, and Ardyn jumped, turning his attention towards the table.  
What had once been an empty table was now covered in a tea set and surrounded by four chairs, one of which was occupied. It took a moment for the man to realize who was sitting there, facing away from him, but once it clicked, he tensed up.

“Lady Lunafreya,” he greeted, trying to smile. His usually even tone shook with his nerves, and he tried to reach for the Starscourge that coursed through his body, only to find nothing. “It is a pleasure,” Ardyn continued, bowing even though she could not see it.

Luna merely sipped her tea. “Please,” she repeated, voice calm and firm. “Take a seat.”

It wasn’t a request. It was an order.   
An order that Ardyn knew better than to refuse. Lunafreya had been here far longer than he had, and from what the Chancellor knew, the longer you spent around Astral creations, the better you could control them. Taking a deep breath, Ardyn gathered his nerves, moving towards the table with a forced confidence.

 

He sat down beside Luna. The table was square and small, something Ardyn took notice of as he got comfortable in his chair. Despite the furniture being more ornamental than practical, it all functioned rather well. His chair was soft, and the table seemed as if it could withstand anything, although he didn’t comment on it. Instead, he watched as Luna poured a cup of tea for the Chancellor, handing it over with a small saucer.

“Thank you,” he mumbled, taking both items carefully. Ardyn looked down into the teacup and stiffened, arms locking in place as he gazed down at the golden liquid that the Oracle had poured.

“You should be fine to drink it,” Luna answered, as if already knowing what Ardyn would say. She kept her gaze forward, watching the sunlight shine off the river that was running peacefully through the garden. It hadn’t been there when Ardyn sat down, but he knew enough of Astrals and magic to know that sometimes, things just changed.

Even with Luna’s confirmation, Ardyn still took his time. He slowly relaxed and eased the cup up to his lips, waiting a few moments before taking the leap and sipping. Lunafreya had said nothing through the whole ordeal, although she did smile as the Chancellor lowered the cup back onto the saucer. The silence between them hung awkwardly, and eventually Ardyn summed up the courage to break it. “The garden looks nice.”

“It does.” Setting her teacup down, Luna turned to face Ardyn, noting his stiff posture. He was on edge, ready to make a break for it if she so much as moved wrong. “I do not know why you are here Ardyn, but I am glad that you are.”

 

Her words certainly caught Ardyn off guard, and it was evident in the way his confident charade dropped for a moment, letting surprise overtake him. It vanished almost instantly, as he smiled at her, trying to cover up the surge of emotion with his usual smug expression. “I should say the same, My Lady. It’s always a pleasure to be with you.”

“Tell me Ardyn, do you stab all the girls you take pleasure in being around?” she asked, sipping her tea again. 

Ardyn’s smile dropped, but he let himself keep the confident and smug aura he’d summed up. “Not all of them, I assure you. I do apologize for that, by the way. Some things had to be done for the True King to answer his calling.”  
He took this chance to sip at his tea again, taking a moment to focus on the flavour, now that he knew it wouldn’t harm him. It was warm, with a slight kick to it. The smell reminded him of sylleblossoms, and the aftertaste was reminiscent of magic, something he remembered from his years of practice with the substance. “Did you brew this yourself?”

Lunafreya sighed. “I understand your motives. In the grand scheme of things, I cannot say I was against them, despite the atrocities that occurred by your hand as a result.”

 

That was certainly not what Ardyn had been expecting to hear. He sat in a stunned silence as Luna reached forward for a small plate of biscuits that had appeared. She began to nibble on one, gathering her thoughts. “Gentiana explained everything, once I had passed. About you. About Izunia. About the Starscourge.”

As she spoke, Ardyn fidgeted, feeling more and more uncomfortable. It was a foreign feeling, something he hadn’t known for centuries. Usually he was in control, able to twist any situation but now...   
Now he was at the total mercy of someone else, with no plan to fall back to. Clearing his throat, Ardyn managed to speak. “I’m sure you found it all rather boring.”

“On the contrary, I found it rather interesting.” The biscuit was finished, and Luna was in the midst of refilling her tea. She offered the pot to Ardyn, who politely took it and topped up his own cup. “To have your throne stolen, and to have the Gods abandon you. Even with all that, you waited patiently for Providence.”

Ardyn struggled to find an answer, instead setting down the teapot and reaching for a biscuit. He took a bite of it and sighed contently, reminded of his younger years when he had time to indulge in such things. He looked to Luna, only to find her watching him with a soft gaze, free of judgement.   
“Well, there was no benefit to ending the Lucis line before the True King had been chosen. Otherwise, well, I’d fail in my goal, wouldn’t I?” He smiled at Lunafreya, finding it oddly relieving to see someone understand him. “The Lucis line wouldn’t truly be gone, if Providence hadn’t occurred.”

Luna smiled back at him, although he knew that this one was a smile of pity. “You still wished to fulfill your duty as healer.”

His expression darkened, but Luna refused to back down. “You have no Starscourge here, I hope you’re aware,” she said, keeping her pitying smile and soft look trained on Ardyn. “Although you still have that glow in your eyes. It’s slightly charming.” The pitying smile became warmer, although the Chancellor found no comfort in it. “You know, for everything the Astrals did to you, somehow you made it work.”

 

It felt strange to be angry, and to not feel the darkness within rise up. Normally, it’d be bubbling over, trailing down his face or leaking from his mouth. Just how did people deal with having their anger as something so... intangible?  
“You know nothing of what the Astrals did.”

“I’m capable of imagining, seeing what I have experienced,” Luna answered.

Ardyn gently shook his head. “I doubt it, My Lady.”

“I was an Oracle too, do not forget. I was at the whims of the Gods, although not nearly as much as you.” She sipped her tea again, and Ardyn did the same, if only to try and distract himself from the matter at hand. “I gave all I had, healing the ill and guiding the True King towards his fate. The covenants tore me apart, but after everything, I had somewhere to rest. A reward, if you would phrase it as that. I cannot imagine enduring these burdens, only to have the world turn against me for it.”

His teacup was empty, but Ardyn didn’t take his gaze away from it. Lunafreya refilled it for him, and he mechanically drank from it, thoughts whirling and body on autopilot. “You did horrible things, which I cannot support or fully justify, but without them, everything could have turned out so much worse. Providence would not have come if not for your careful hand.”   
Lunafreya paused, shifting fully in her seat to address the man beside her. “I think, despite everything, you did the best you could. I’m proud of you, Ardyn Lucis Caelum.”

 

The cup dropped onto the table, clinking loudly against the saucer and spilling the golden tea. His hands trembled as he tried to process what Luna was telling him. Ardyn tried to speak, but found it impossible, trying to hold back emotions he had thought long dead.

Lunafreya stood quietly, placing a hand on Ardyn’s shoulder. “Gentiana made the tea, by the way,” she softly commented. “I forgot to mention it.”

Ardyn laughed, although it held the start of a sob in it. “Of course she did.”

“When you are ready, come find me in the Sylleblossom field. I feel we have much to discuss.” Her hand left Ardyn’s shoulder, and he found himself wishing she wouldn’t leave. It was always easier to deal with these things when someone was there to help.

Instead, he swallowed the longing and calmly answered. “I will.”

Content with his reply, Luna walked away, and Ardyn turned just in time to see her vanish. It left him alone in the garden with his thoughts, and the tea set. With a sigh, he fixed his cup, poured some more tea, grabbed a biscuit, and settled down.

Sinking into the chair, he let out a sigh, turning his gaze to the river as he began to nibble on his biscuit.  
“At least someone’s proud of me.”


End file.
